That Bangladesh is going to develop a food storage system capable of feeding 10 million people comes as a piece of welcome news. A disaster-prone country, it could not put in place such a system with its own resources but it is heartening to know that the advanced type of steel silos will be built locally. With support from the World Bank, the flat-bottomed steel silos will have a storage capacity for 535,500 tonnes of rice and wheat -enough provision for 10 million. Additionally and perhaps more importantly, particularly during natural calamities in coastal areas, the programme under which smaller domestic silos with water-tight lid capable of containing 40 kg of paddy will be distributed among 500,000 households will prove a giant step towards ensuring food security for the most vulnerable. After each cyclone such as Aila and Sidr and also flood that have ravaged the country, suggestions were made for arming people in the calamity-hit area with their personal defence mechanism against destruction of their food storages. The domestic silos will at least give them enough breathing space before arrival of relief and other helps.
As for the merit of the large silos, there is no doubt that they will be of greater help in many ways. They take smaller space, guarantee shelf life of grains up to three years as against only one year for the conventional concrete silos. This allows the government greater manoeuvrability in planning with its food grains in stock. Even the smaller domestic silos will keep cereals inside it fresh for seven months at the minimum and up to three years at the maximum. What is so exceptional about this programme is that it will help build a buffer stock with a difference -one that can bring about a conceptual change in food security. Rushing emergency food supply to a remote and ravaged area immediately after a natural calamity poses a daunting challenge and also this proves highly costly. If people in the affected area can rely on their own stored foods for some days, things can be better managed and coordinated.
The shifting to the steel silos from the traditional ones has suddenly opened up yet another possibility of expanding the facilities in order to cover more people. Now the programme will be implemented under the government initiatives. Why is the involvement of private parties not being explored in such a venture where anyone interested can procure silos smaller than the public ones but larger than the ones to be built for distribution among people? Foods rot at times or become abnormally cheaper because of lack of storage facilities. If farmers can avail of storage facilities within their reach, food security of a locality can be ensured. If more such areas come under the programme, food crisis can be a thing of the past in this country. Price stability may as well be attained because of the extra time available for planning with the stored foods. This is a big plus point because the country has experience of foods going waste in godowns when their crisis leads to price volatility.
Storage facility for food security
FE Team | Published: April 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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